Pressure has been mounted on the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh to replace the dissidents in their Cabinet with loyalists. Although a minor reshuffle which was on the cards last fortnight, in both states, has been postponed because of the sessions of the legislative assemblies, both Vishwanath Pratap Singh of Uttar Pradesh and Arjun Singh of Madhya Pradesh have got the Central high command's approval for dropping some ministers.

According to party insiders Arjun Singh is likely to expand his 23-member Cabinet in the second week of April. Besides dropping at least two dissident Cabinet ministers, he will accommodate some pro- P. C. Sethi nominees to strengthen his position vis-a-vis Union Civil Supplies Minister Vidya Charan Shukla. Vishwanath Pratap Singh is expected to accommodate some supporters of Planning Minister Narain Dutt Tiwari to counter the influence of the Brahmin lobby headed by Kamalapati Tripathi.

Perks Of Office

When members of Parliament gave themselves a handsome 50 per cent pay increase last fortnight, some critics thought their sense of generosity was a little misplaced. Now it turns out the pay hike wasn't the only gain of the fortnight. S. S. Sisodia, minister of state in the Ministry of Finance has verbally instructed the Customs Department to allow all MPs to use the Green Channel for customs clearance - without being stopped. That, of course, means that MPs, unlike their less privileged countrymen, will be free to walk in with whatever goodies they can stuff into their bags, without being subjected to the tedious scrutiny which is the fate of many Indians returning from abroad.

A Red Alert

What happens if the Congress (I) Government - sooner or later - does come cracking down on a regimented opposition party like the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M)? The Marxists seem to have read the writing on the wall and are drawing up hurried contingency plans. Last fortnight, they decided to hold the next meeting of their Central Committee in Calcutta, their protected bastion. The Central Committee office was shifted to New Delhi in 1977, in the wake of the Congress' electoral debacle. Observers hold that the Marxists are now keeping their options open and will withdraw into their "Bengal shell" if the need arises.

Bihar's Publicity Blitz

Faced with growing revolt within the party and spreading disenchantment without, the Bihar Government of Jagannath Mishra has launched a massive operation face-lift through an unprecedented publicity campaign. During the past three months alone the Government has reportedly spent over Rs 1 crore on press advertisements in national and local newspapers equivalent to Rs 1 lakh a day.

The local newspapers are thriving because Mishra and some of his Cabinet colleagues have also started projecting themselves with their photographs inserted on the front pages. They appear to be in quite a hurry since on a single day as many as two or three photographs appear on front pages. This is not all. In its image - boosting effort the Government has recently appointed two high salaried press advisers to the chief minister-one for Delhi and another to remain in Patna-ostensibly to improve its sagging image.

DMK At Sea

Karunanidhi with Mrs Gandhi: an uneasy alliance

For all the somersaults M. Karunanidhi did in the recent past to cling to Mrs Indira Gandhi's petticoat, the Congress(I) in Tamil Nadu has made up its mind to ditch the DMK. The misalliance of the two parties, which proved extremely beneficial to both in the 1980 Lok Sabha elections, had turned out to be an embarrassment to both with disastrous consequences in the subsequent assembly poll.

Karunanidhi's sole purpose of maintaining the ties was to eventually evict the AIADMK from Fort St George. M.G. Ramachandran, for once, has shown uncanny political acumen by deciding not to field an AIADMK candidate for the forthcoming by-election to the assembly from Tirupathur. The seat was wrested by the Congress(I) from the CPI in the last elections. TNCC(I) president M. P. Subramaniam has given an undertaking to ditch the DMK if the AIADMK extended its support to the Congress(I) candidate in Tirupathur. The DMK finds itself between the horns of a dilemma. Forsaking Tirupathur would be a sad commentary on the party's professed claim to be the champion of the Dravidian movement. Putting up a candidate against the Congress(I), on the other hand, would only make it easier for Mrs Gandhi to snap ties with the DMK. The dice are loaded heavily against the DMK.

Yogi Beats A Retreat

The not so holy alliance between jet-set Mahesh Yogi and business magnate Ram Nath Goenka, which was supposed to last for all eternity, has turned out to be rather short-lived. The four-month honeymoon is already stale, with the controversial extension of the Express building in Delhi wearing a barren look. What transpired is not yet known but insiders claim that the Yogi could not withstand the pressure of the Government. Notwithstanding this sudden exit of the governors of the World Government of the Transcendental Meditation (TM) Foundation, the Yogi has assured Goenka that though he was unable to set up the headquarters of his India chapter in the Express building, he would definitely like to avail of Goenka's favours next year.

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